Regarding your article about ICW dredging, “The Atlantic
ICW – Can you dig it?” (Oct./Nov. 2017), we’ve done the
ICW trip seven times over the years. I believe one of the main
contributing factors to shoaling is boaters themselves. The
trend today is large power yachts, and they throw tremendous
wakes. On numerous occasions on the waterway we’ve seen
a white wave from shoreline to shoreline created by a large
yacht pushing along with a huge transom wake. After the boat
passes, the water bashes back and forth on the shoreline, pulling silt and mud into the channel. In our experience, however,
most boaters have no idea what “no wake” really means.

RHONDA & TIM PETERSON
Florida

Where are the young boaters?

Regarding your excellent story on millennial-age boaters,
“Where are all the young boaters?”(Oct./Nov. 2017), I want to
make a minor point about quality and reliability as influencing
factors. If you grew up in a boating family and watched your
parents deal with the hassle of balky engines, comfort systems
that failed to cool/warm you, electronics that went dark at
the wrong times, weekend plans cancelled because something
wasn’t working or the boat was in the shop, it’s likely you’ll be
ambivalent about buying into those experiences as an adult.
Manufacturers have made great strides in reliability over the
years. But to me, increased reliability is key.

JOHN WOOLDRIDGE
Maryland

•••••

Respect ‘no wake’

MAILBOAT

LettersToEditor@BoatUS.com

ICY OBSTACLES

“Leaving Ford’s
Terror, south of
Juneau, Alaska,
my wife, Carol, and
I found ice coming in on the tidal
rapids that guard
the anchorage’s
entrance,” writes
Gerald Pumphrey
of Olympia,
Washington.

NIGHT VISION “The best photo I’ve ever taken was during a
getaway at our friend’s houseboat at Bullards Bar Reservoir in
California,” writes Richie McKee of Flower Mound, Texas.

My girlfriend ( 22) and I ( 24) are millennial sailors who live
aboard our 1981 Allmand 31 Miss Sarah in Wrightsville
Beach, North Carolina. I find it’s becoming harder to live
aboard at many marinas. Some want a full year’s payment for
a slip, others just don’t seem to want liveaboards. I’m a local
charter-boat captain, and my girlfriend is a second-grade
teacher. Why is it such a problem to have people living aboard
and enjoying their vessels as intended? We mean no harm
living aboard and just wish liveaboards everywhere could have
a fair shot at a slip. Although frustrating, the challenges of
finding a slip have not deterred me from continuing to stay
aboard. The 6 a.m. dinghy ride to the public dock is always a
refreshing way to wake up in the morning.

DYLAN BAKER
North Carolina

Fighting the green monster

After reading “Fighting the Green Monster” (Oct./Nov.
2017), I wanted to add info that others may find helpful about
seasickness. We boat on the short chop of Lake Erie, where
anchoring while perch fishing or sailing can cause problems
for some people. With a doctor’s prescription, a local compounding pharmacy will make up individual vials of the same
meds found in the scopolamine patch but in a “goop” that you
can rub behind your ear in a controlled amount and avoid the
dizziness of the patch. It’s reasonably priced and works well
when applied two hours before hitting the water.